True Treasure: Real - Life History Mystery (29 page)

The women were shown aboard first. Mary stood as close to the boarding ramp as she could. She noticed many of the women with their children who had been the wives and companions of the sailors aboard the Devonshire. She greeted each one warmly as they boarded. “We are to have a meeting of the Devonshire sailors,” she said. As the sailors came aboard she gave them the same greeting.

When most were on the deck, before the captain could speak, she made her way to the back of the ship. She raised her voice, “I have been given a land grant. When we arrive you must say you are to work on the Mary Welch land grant. It is in my maiden name as I was hired aboard the Devonshire as M. Welch. We will run our settlement the same way we did when we were on Shark Island, except we will be able grow crops also. Please spread the word when we get to
Van Diemen’s Land. We, the people of the Devonshire though falsely accused, will stand together, and make it our home.”

The guards came through breaking up the crowd as Mary stepped down from her post. The men now knew she had a plan. She hoped it was enough to keep spirits high and keep them all safe from what lay ahead.

The bawdy woman stuck close to Mary, “Ma’am?”

“Yes?” Mary said. “I was arrested and sent to jail for stealing cloth. Though I am not a pirate, perhaps—I was a wondering if I could join your crew.”

Mary pondered her question and kept a straight face. In bearing with her new tough personality she asked, “What skill do you have to offer?”

The woman proudly stated, “I can count and add quick. It is a gift. There are one hundred and seventeen prisoners aboard this ship and forty-three crew men.”

Mary smiled and said, “Welcome.”

The woman spit in her palm then offered it to Mary. Mary paused, spit in hers, and shook the woman’s hand.

“My name is Betsy Arlington.”

“And mine is Mary Welch Graham.”

***

Mary was sharing a room with four other women. She chose to share it with the old blind woman who couldn’t hear, Betsy her new friend, and two of the married women from the crew of the Devonshire, Lolita and Christina
, whose husbands had already been sentenced and transported to Van Diemen’s on an earlier ship.

Once the voyage was underway, Mary got busy giving the old woman a washing. She smelled horribly as if her clothes had not been washed in weeks. “Please get some water. Let us give her a proper bath.” They stripped the woman and filled a tub with mainly seawater, then heated some on the stove to make the temperature bearable. While they were scrubbing her down, they heard a knock on the door of the room.

The knock was quickly followed by a voice, “Is Mrs. Graham in?”

Christina opened the door as the voice came from the dark hallway.

Mary quickly dried off her hands and went to meet the messenger out in the hall. “Lt. Gregory!” she said and held out her hand, “I am so glad to see you! When did you board? I did not see you above when we came on deck.”

He smiled, “I am glad to see you too, Mrs. Graham.” The guard at the end of the cabin hall looked at them before walking back to the far end to give them privacy.

Lt. Gregory spoke, “I was below making arrangements for where the men of the crew should stay. Mr. Kerry is here also, but I do not know what happened with Toussant or Sedgwig.”

“They may have been taken on an earlier transport to Van Diemen’s.”

“Yes, perhaps. It is the most likely explanation.”

“How many men from the Devonshire are with you? We have seventeen women and ten children aboard.”

“There are seventy of us men.”

Mary nodded. “Good. The men may have informed you, that I come from a wealthy family. My father has bargained with the governor of Van Diemen’s. He has granted me a land contract for five hundred acres. I want us to build our own Devonshire town on the land and farm the rest. We can stick together and survive as we did on Shark Island.”

“Yes, they informed me.” Mr. Gregory’s smile faded, “Mrs. Graham, I am so sorry about Captain Graham.”

Mary nodded quickly and looked down. “I know, I miss him and I must think of other things or I will—” Mary bit her knuckle and took a breath, “which is why I must do everything I can to save his men. It is what Bennett would expect. I come from a hacienda in Costa Rica where we grew coffee berries, cocoa beans, and other crops. I grew up chasing chickens and milking goats. This is a life I am accustomed to.”

Lt. Gregory nodded. “Thank you, it is a good plan. I will see what skills we have among the men. Shelter and food will be our top requirements.”

“If anyone has farming or ranching experience...My father has arranged for goats and chickens. We can fish and maybe trap or hunt.”

Lt. Gregory said gently, “You have given the men hope for a future. Captain Bennett chose well.”

Mary smiled, “Thank you. I love him still.”

Mary turned to go into her room. She hesitated, working on gaining her composure. There was no time to cry. She had plans to make. Plans upon top of plans.

“One other matter,” Mary heard, so she turned around to see Lt. Gregory was still standing near her in the hall. “I will try to join you and the men when I can.”

“What do you mean? When you can?” Mary asked.

Lt.
Gregory sighed. “I have been assigned to work on one of the prison ships. Some of the pirates are too dangerous to let them roam free on the island. They are even too dangerous for the labor camps or have already killed men in the camps. These men are housed aboard the prison ships.”

“I did not know,” Mary said.

“Yes. I will inform Mr. Kerry. May he work as your second?”

“I would be delighted. We must make a home for our men. Captain Graham would expect no less of me,” Mary said quietly.

“I am sorry,” Lt. Gregory said. He reached out and briefly touched Mary on the arm then withdrew his hand. “He would be proud of how you are thinking of the men first.”

Mary nodded. “Yes. If I am busy taking care of others I will have no time to think about myself.”

Lt. Gregory grimly smiled, “Yes, quite.”

*

***

*****

***

*

CHAPTER 10

Van Diemen’s Land

Once the ship was in port a man came aboard and stood above the prisoners on the Captain’s deck next to the captain.

“I am Sir George Author, First Baronet, the Lieutenant Governor of Van Diemen’s Land, your new home. We are building a town of commerce here as you can see evidenced by the timber awaiting transport. You have a chance for a new beginning. First, know that I am the law and God’s law is my law. Abide by the Ten Commandments. No drunkenness, no fighting. There are no trials, no second chances. If you break the law, you will be assigned to a labor camp breaking rocks,
and clearing the land. If you break the law again, you will be assigned to a prison ship until you meet your watery grave. One hundred and fifty lashes is the punishment for escape.” He paused.

“As you may or may not know there are native aborigines on the island. They are dangerous to your person, and you are encouraged to use force to imprison and turn them in for relocation. If you attempt to escape into the forests the natives will kill you. If you head into the sea the sharks will. Resign yourself to making this your home.”

He scanned the new arrivals before continuing, “We will be counting and checking in the oars and sails, after which, you will be assigned duties and placement. Please gather all your belongings. I will have my guards at the tables. Provide them your name, age, any special work skills or training, and what employment you have held in the past. We are in high need of carpenters and blacksmiths, farmers, husbandry. You will be assigned to a work detail. That is all.”

Mary looked around for Lt. Gregory.

One of the men at the front of the table from the Devonshire gestured to Mary. “Mrs. Graham, Mrs. Graham!”

She went to the front table and saw Lt. Gregory was there also. “We are to work for Mrs. Graham, she has a land grant.”

Mary spoke up, “I have a land grant,” she pulled the paper from her pocket. “I have been given acreage on the land to build a settlement and a farm. We plan to grow crops for the island. I want to have the whole ship of prisoners, those that would like to, to be assigned to the settlement. We can take care of ourselves.”

The man took the document and read it. “Let me get the Governor.”

Mary looked to the port of Van Diemen’s. It was not much to look at. Everything within view looked shoddy, slapped together, like a prison camp. The land was a slim peninsula funneling towards the mainland. In the distance, the thick tropical forest climbed the mountainsides, just like at home. For a minute she felt like she was back on Shark Island and Bennett would walk up any second.

The Governor came over and looked at the land grant he himself had signed months ago. “Oh yes. Mr. Welch’s daughter has arrived. He looked at Mary who quickly curtsied and smiled, as she demurely looked down at the table. “It is an honor to meet you, sir,” she said.

“Give her the Van Klennon land, and the adjoining acreage to fulfill the terms of the grant.”

The guard hesitated, then said, “Yes sir
.”

The governor tossed the grant back onto the table and turned to leave. Mary called out quickly before he left.

“Governor! May I have a moment of your time, please?”

He turned back to glance at her.

“Privately?” she asked. She flashed a smile but glanced down the way a woman should when talking to a man who was not her husband.

He gestured for her to walk beside him. He led her to the upper deck where there was only one guard on duty away from the masses on the deck below.

“Yes? What is it you require of me?” he asked.

“I would like the whole crew, those that will come, assigned to work on the land grant. We plan to grow crops. In return, we have master craftsmen I can assign to make your home in town as beautiful as the fine furniture you must have brought with you. I ask for your mercy. These men have been assigned here for the rest of their lives to hard labor away from the sea and their loved ones. They
are
being punished.” Mary stopped for emphasis then continued, “I will take full responsibility for the feed and care of the men and women on this ship, if you will allow me that luxury.”

The governor laughed, then really looked at Mary for the first time, “The Van Klennon’s land grant I’ve given you is yours because Van Klennon and his family were killed by the aborigines. I will assign the prisoners to
your
care as it is less of a headache for
me
. They are your responsibility now.”

“Thank you, governor.” Mary curtsied.

He turned to go back to the deck below. “I will speak to the guard. Have your carpenters report to work at my home as soon as you have had time to settle in. I look forward to seeing what they are capable of.”

Mary smiled and joined the crew on the main deck. The atmosphere of dread had turned to one of anticipation. Those that had lived on Shark Island knew they could build a life here. And those on the ship who had seen how they worked together on the voyage over, thanks to Lt. Gregory and Lt. Kerry, were just glad to be part of a group that could shield them against the unknown.

***

Mary and the Lieutenants secured some horses and two carts to haul the belongings they had brought from the mainland to the former Van Klennon’s land grant. It ran along the border of the forests on the outskirts of the settlement. Once off the ship, Mary turned to Betsy, her ever present companion and now self-appointed personal assistant, and asked, “Would you seat Miss Jane next to one of the drivers of the carts?” Ms. Jane was the name they had given to the old deaf and half-blind woman. Her eyes were thick with a coating of yellowish white. He
r mind had dwindled to the point she could not tell anyone her name, so they called her Jane. She could not possibly walk to the land grant. Mary could not afford to transport all the crew to the property. What money and valuables she had left needed to be used for trade for items that were necessary for their survival. All the able bodied, including herself, would have to walk. The other spot was given to a sailor’s wife, who had just given birth.

Mr. Kerry inquired of the guard in charge, the one who had paled when told they were assigned the Van Klennon’s old land grant, “Sir, perhaps you can provide directions on how to get the Van Klennon’s?”

He nodded, “When you start to see the rain forest, follow the path out of town. It will narrow to the width of your cart. It’s the land with the whitewashed wood home and a half-painted wood barn on account the family was killed before it was finished. The rest of their workers who survived took off. They were attacked in the middle of the night when the crew was asleep.”

Mr. Kerry nodded. “May I ask how they were killed? We will assign guards to night watch, but it would be helpful to know what to expect. What weapons are they known to use?”

“They make long spears and short spears using sharp fishbone tips. They use a womera to launch their spears, it makes them travel further. They will use their spears first. Then when they get close, if you are not dead, they will use an axe or a club to finish you off.” The man looked off towards the mountain, squinting in the bright light as the sun came out from behind a cloud. He continued, “They use something called a boomerang on small animals. It is a wide v shaped piece of wood that they throw, and it comes back to them, like magic. I’ve never seen anything like it in my life. They make heavier ones too in the desert area made from the mulga tree, to hunt a beast they call kangaroos. Kangaroos can be small or taller than a man.”